Mandrels are used for fabrication of cylindrical structures by winding resin impregnated filaments around the mandrel, which is the process commonly known as filament winding. After winding, the resin is cured (usually by heating) thereby producing a filament wound cylinder of some rigidity that is rather tightly secured or contained on the mandrel so as to almost constitute a case of adherence of the cured cylinder to the mandrel. Prior art attempts to facilitate the removal of cured, filament wound cylindrical sections from the mandrels on which they are wound include the use of breakaway (disposable) mandrels, or other mandrel extracting schemes of much more complexity; both of which involve a substantial recurring expense whether it be for replacement of disposable mandrels or for manhours in the use of complex mandrel systems.